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US 5,664,611 AGranted
Primary log breakout machine
OwnerMerle McDowellinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerMerle McDowellinventor
Estimating the term…
A machine in which a log is transported through the machine center for chipping or sawing a slab from both sides of the log in a single pass and/or sawing a side board or flitch from one or both sides of the log in a single pass and/or sawing multiple boards by reciprocating the log through the center of the machine. This invention relates specifically to the center carriage feed system having a bottom carriage and a top carriage in which the bottom carriage supports the log continuously for its full length and the top carriage utilizes hold down bars or dogs that engage the top of the log. The bottom carriage includes a log supposing vertical member having a transverse member at its lower end provided with a wheel at each end to engage widely spaced parallel tracks. One of the wheels and tracks are of V-shaped configuration to stabilize and guide the vertical log supporting member to reduce lateral deflection. The other track and wheels are flat. The wheels and tracks effectively support the log throughout its length and during its reciprocatory movement.
In a log breakout machine having an elongated rigid bottom frame, an elongated rigid top frame, end frames supporting the top and bottom frames generally in parallel rigid relation, a longitudinal bottom track structure on the bottom frame, a longitudinal top track structure on the top frame, a bottom carriage mounted on the bottom track structure, a top carriage mounted on the top track structure, a log support member on the bottom carriage engaging the bottom center of a log substantially throughout its length, log engaging members on the top carriage engaging the top center of the log and retaining it on the bottom log support member, a pair of opposed, aligned and spaced log treating structures on opposite sides of the path of movement of the log and engaging opposite sides of the log, said log support member and top engaging members being located in the space between the log treating structures to enable longitudinal movement of the log between the log treating structures, the improvement comprising the log supporting member engaging the bottom center of the log being a thin vertically extending member, a plurality of spaced, transversely extending bottom carriage members at a bottom portion of the log supporting member, said bottom carriage members forming part of the bottom carriage and a carriage supporting member at each end of each bottom carriage member, said bottom track structure including a pair of laterally spaced, parallel tracks engaging and supporting said carriage supporting members to enable longitudinal movement of the bottom carriage on the frame with the transverse spacing of the carriage supporting members and tracks providing lateral stability to the log supporting member engaging the bottom center of the log.
The machine as defined in claim I wherein one of said carriage supporting members is a wheel on one end of each bottom transverse carriage member provided with a V-shaped periphery, one of said laterally spaced tracks on the bottom frame structure including an inverted V-shaped configuration along a top edge to support and guide said wheel having a V-shaped periphery thereby guiding and supporting the bottom carriage during its movement.
A log sawing machine including a carriage reciprocally movable past a pair of laterally spaced parallel, opposed circular saws supported on arbors having ends spaced apart, said carriage including a generally vertical rigid log support extending upwardly between the arbors and supportingly engaging a log being transported between said saws above and in perpendicular relation to the arbors, a bottom track structure supporting said carriage, said track structure including a pair of laterally spaced parallel tracks, said carriage including a plurality of longitudinally spaced supports rigid with respect to said log support, said supports being laterally spaced and supportingly and guidingly engaged with said laterally spaced tracks to laterally stabilize said log support and a log supported thereon during movement past said saws.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.